The first match concluded. The entire process took less than 10 minutes. Yugen smoothly secured five credits.
He was in a good mood. This duel earned him even more credits than a single match in the exchange convention. These credits came very easily.
If possible, he'd even want to ask the senior student if she'd like to play a best-of-five for a few more credits, betting five credits on each match.
However, judging by the senior student's roaring expression, she probably wasn't too keen on another round.
The entire venue fell silent after watching this match.
After a long pause, the student council member finally couldn't help but step forward and ask, "That... Student Yugen, is the soul of your deck... Lava Golem?"
Yugen raised an eyebrow.
What? By that tone, are you looking down on my great Lava Golem?
Then he'd have to properly debate it: "What? Is Lava Golem's ATK not high enough?"
"Ah, that's not it."
Its ATK is the same as the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon; who would dare say it's not high?
"So you feel its level is too low?"
"No, no, Level 8 is already very strong."
"So you think its effect isn't powerful enough?"
"Its effect... is very strong."
"Then why can't it be my soul?" Yugen argued reasonably.
Student Nakamura: "..."
Good point. For a moment, he couldn't refute it.
It's just that his usual way of thinking felt a little uncomfortable. That soul presence, appearing on the opponent's field right from the start, somehow still felt... off.
In a corner of the venue, among the crowd, a certain jellyfish-headed individual, also dragged there by the student council for not voting, mumbled: "Ah, ah, that Yugen feels really strong! I wonder when I'll get a chance to duel him."
"Huh?!" Marufuji Ryo, who stood beside him like a minor character, looked at his big brother in shock.
He wondered just how obsessed with dueling Judai big brother had to be to want to try dueling after witnessing that kind of match.
Shouldn't normal people retreat and silently blacklist that person?
"But then again, he actually uses a Roid deck too!" Judai patted Ryo's back, chuckling, "Could it be that Roids are actually very strong?"
Marufuji Ryo: "..."
No, he always felt that even though they were both using transportation Roids, the art style in other people's hands was completely different from his own.
Others could use Roids to make their opponents fall off the dueling table, but he seemed to always be the one falling off the dueling table.
Ryo began to self-reflect.
Is there a possibility that it's not a Roid problem, but simply that he's just... bad?
"Speaking of which, that Tenjoin student seems pretty strong too."
Judai wiped his nose, his face full of anticipation.
"I feel like there's more to see!"
At this moment, Tenjoin Asuka had already set up her dueling disk and walked up to Yugen.
"You're very strong," she said seriously, "But I'll also give it my all."
"Naturally."
As Yugen spoke, he smoothly pulled out the deck from his dueling disk, inserted it into an empty deck box behind him, then drew another deck from a different deck box and inserted it into his dueling disk.
Kaiba Corporation's latest model dueling disk performed the shuffling program. The newly inserted deck shuffled with a swish-swish-swish.
Asuka slightly furrowed her brows.
Changing decks?
"I stand here as a duelist, not just a girl. I hope you can also give it your all," she said.
"Don't worry, of course," Yugen smiled, "It's just a normal tactical change."
In this world with destiny force attributes, using the same tactics for two consecutive matches could very likely incur the risk of being targeted. Even if the opponent didn't intend to adjust their deck, as long as they knew your deck and strategy, drawing any five cards could very likely give them a countermeasure.
Tenjoin Asuka, as one of the main cast members in the early stages, should also have a strong destiny force attribute. Or rather, among the students of the same grade beside Judai in the early stages, she should be in the top tier.
"Duel!" x2
[Yugen, LP 4000]
[Asuka, LP 4000]
"I'll go first. Draw," Asuka said. "I Normal Summon 'Cyber Tutu' in Attack Position!"
[Cyber Tutu, ATK 1000]
"Then I activate the Equip Spell 'Angel Wing' and equip it to Cyber Tutu!" (Anime card)
The spell card appeared in her backrow. A pair of pure white wings unfolded behind the graceful Cyber Tutu, a faint white light enveloping its entire body.
"A monster equipped with 'Angel Wing', when it inflicts battle damage to the opponent, that damage can be increased by 300 points," Asuka said. "Then I Set one card, and end my turn."
"My turn, draw."
Yugen added the drawn card to his hand, then played a monster card.
"I Summon 'Card Trooper'!"
[Card Trooper, ATK 400]
"Card Trooper's effect: Once per turn, send up to three cards from the top of your Deck to the Graveyard. For each card sent, its ATK increases by 500."
Yugen drew three cards in one breath and sent them to the Graveyard.
"I send three cards to the Graveyard. Card Trooper's ATK increases by 1500!"
[Card Trooper, ATK 400 → ATK 1900]
Yugen paused, sweeping his gaze across Asuka's backrow.
He seemed to have some idea of what the Set card was.
In the anime, whenever Asuka dueled, that one Trap Card was almost indispensable, sticking to her hand like Kaiser Cyber Dragon with super glue.
[Trap Card - Double Pass]
Effect: When an opponent's monster attacks a monster you control in Attack Position, change that attack to a direct attack on you. In exchange, your monster on the field can inflict direct battle damage to the opponent. (Anime effect)
Because the effect "A monster can inflict direct battle damage to the opponent during the opponent's turn" was a bit illogical for real cards, the real card's effect was changed to "In exchange, your monster can directly attack in the following turn."
Moreover, Asuka immediately Normal Summoned Cyber Tutu, which only had 1000 ATK, in Attack Position, and she even made sure to equip her ace with "Angel Wing" right away, which could further boost battle damage by 300 points.
Therefore, Yugen was 90% certain about that Set card.
Normally, if he used Card Trooper to attack and Asuka activated "Double Pass," Asuka would take 1900 direct attack damage, while Yugen would only take 1300. The opponent would lose 600 Life Points, so theoretically, there's a very high probability she wouldn't activate it.
But based on Asuka's tactical performance in the original work, her activation probability was not low. More than once, she didn't hesitate to lose her own Life Points to force a life point trade with the opponent.
Based on the theories he had learned these past few days, Yugen speculated that this might be her dueling style: bravely advancing, never retreating. Maintaining such a style might help stabilize her "momentum" in the duel, which, in her view, was more important than a mere few hundred LP difference.
In that case, he might as well play along with her plan.
"Battle," Yugen waved his hand. "'Card Trooper' attacks 'Cyber Tutu'!"
The ATK-boosted Card Trooper lowered its arms, and with a bang-bang-bang, fired several shots directly towards the slender, long-haired female monster.
Asuka slightly furrowed her brows: "You're completely ignoring my Set card, huh? Then, I activate my Set card!
Trap Card - Double Pass!"
Yugen narrowed his eyes.
Indeed.
"This Trap Card, when an opponent's monster declares an attack, changes that attack to a direct attack on me!" Asuka shouted. "Then, my monster on the field can attack the opponent's player directly!"
The onlookers were all startled: "Using herself as a monster shield!?"
"Right from the start, it's such an exciting trade of blows?"
On one hand, it was a life point trade, and at the same time, it was to protect her monster on the field for further pursuit in the next turn.
This was her dueling rhythm and style.
However...
"Then 'Card Trooper's' attack becomes a direct attack on Asuka," Yugen said.
The projectiles fired by Card Trooper inexplicably changed direction in mid-air, making two eerie turns past the holographic monster on the field, aiming straight for Asuka behind it.
"But at this instant, I activate the Quick-Play Spell 'Limiter Removal' from my hand!" Yugen revealed another card from his hand. "Until the end of this turn, Card Trooper's ATK is doubled!"
[Card Trooper, ATK 1900 → ATK 3800]
Asuka's expression changed dramatically: "What did you say!?"
ATK of 3800 in an instant?!
She could still accept the 1900 damage being redirected, but immediately so much...
It's going to break, right?